Weekend Rounds is a newsletter by Obi Veterinary Education. Each week, we'll round up what's new and noteworthy across veterinary medicine - both within the Obi community and veterinary industry at large - and deliver it right to your inbox.

New and Noteworthy

Image credit: Banfield Pet Hospital

Keenan Thompson Takes on a Worthy Cause 

In partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Banfield Pet Hospital has committed $10 million to strengthening educational pathways for current and future veterinary professionals. As the veterinarian shortage continues to impact the industry, initiatives like this are more important than ever to increase interest in the profession at large.

The funding includes a new national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America focused on encouraging high school students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in veterinary medicine. With nearly 90% of veterinarians identifying as white, promoting pathways for visible minorities to join the profession needs to be a focus for us all.

And now, the program has some celebrity star power behind it as SNL actor Keenan Thompson is lending his platform to engage with high school students from underrepresented communities and encourage them to pursue careers in veterinary medicine.

Thompson became inspired to address the lack of diversity in the profession after wrapping filming on his new movie,

Clifford The Big Red Dog

, where he plays a veterinarian.

We encourage you to think about what can be done at your clinic to help elevate visibility minorities in the profession. To learn more and join the conversation, here are a few of our favourite social media accounts:

Twitter:

Instagram:

D

iversity In Veterinary Medicine

Latinx Vet Gang

WCVM Diverse

El Salvador crypto profits fund Veterinary Hospital

When El Salvador became the first nation in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender on September 9th, we did not think there would be much overlap between that news and the animal world. But after just a month, President Nayib Bukele has announced that El Salvador will invest part of the $4 million surplus that it has accumulated on its cryptocurrency investments in "a veterinary hospital for our furry friends."

Spending the money off your crypto earnings is not common as most investors hold on for dear life to weather the unpredictable market (or HODL as the crypto bros would say).

If you aren't familiar with cryptocurrency or think its just a fad I would reconsider your stance. Now is a good a time as any to start learning about this financial trend. Even if your clinic doesn't start to accept Bitcoin any time soon, blockchain technologies and crypto currencies will likely disrupt healthcare in the coming years.

Intimidated by it all? Understandable. To get started, check out this YouTube video from The Guardian on the basics of Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

World Mental Health Day

Today is an important day by any means, but especially in our profession. Supporting the well-being of veterinarians is an important pillar of our mission at Obi Veterinary Education, and we hope that you will take this day to reflect on your own mental health and that of your colleagues. Take some time for yourself today and let's all reflect on the steps we can take to support our own and our colleague's mental health.

Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian members. We're thankful for you, and hope you find some time to relax and think about what you're grateful for this year.

Let us know what you'd like to see in future editions of Weekend Rounds by replying to this email.